Conditions Improve, Learning New Spells

Some official wizard laboratories and research projects maintained long-term purchases of specific processed magical plants or minerals.

The prices were often slightly higher than the instant tasks in the mission hall, but the requirements were also stricter.

Luo Lin selected several commissions with high precision requirements but low demand. Relying on his superb processing skills, he successfully passed their sample tests and gained two more stable sources of income from material processing.

These scattered tasks and commissions brought him nearly a hundred additional contribution points every week.

In this way, Luo Lin successfully bypassed Frack's blockade and established several discreet, steady resource channels.

His reserves of contribution points began steadily growing again, and with their sources spread out, they no longer stood out.

Luo Lin invested most of his income into improving himself.

Besides the twenty contribution points he spent each week on food and herbal tea, he began purchasing incense that could mildly nourish his mental power, consuming around thirty contribution points per week.

Used during meditation, its effects were slight, but over time, it could still speed up his progress by a little.

He also purchased copied notes on spell model construction techniques, further optimizing the construction efficiency of [Mage Hand]. However, the expense of more than a hundred contribution points made Luo Lin's heart ache.

Time flew by amid fulfilling research, training, and accumulation.

The values on his panel continued to rise steadily as he advanced toward the threshold of a Second-Rank Apprentice.

Time quietly passed in Luo Lin's regular and efficient life, and another half month went by in the blink of an eye.

Less than four weeks remained until the final apprentice assessment.

Late one night, Luo Lin finished a long meditation session. He felt more mentally fulfilled than ever before, and the mana flowing through his body was smooth and unhindered.

With a thought, he summoned his panel and examined his current condition:

[Subject: Luo Lin]

[Race: Human]

[Status: Healthy]

[Level: First-Rank Wizard Apprentice (Progress 99%)]

[Attributes:

Constitution: 1.0

Mental Power: 2.1

Mana: 20/21]

[Knowledge Mastered:

Basic Meditation Method (Mastery 5%)

Basic Rune Identification (Beginner 22%)

Basic Magical Botany (38%)

Basic Potion Material Processing (Professional 15%)

Analysis of Common Cantrip Model Structures (Proficient 12%)]

[Spell: Mage Hand (Proficient 55%)]

[Talent: Efficient Scholar (Passive)]

Every value on the panel had improved.

His apprentice rank had reached the limit of First-Rank. He only needed one final push to break through to Second-Rank.

His mental power attribute had broken through 2.0, while his mana limit had reached twenty-one points.

[Basic Meditation Method] had even entered the mastery level, which meant his understanding and application of this basic meditation method had reached a new height.

[Mage Hand]'s proficiency had also risen past the halfway mark. He could now construct its model extremely quickly, and the energy hand was solid and stable enough to lift objects weighing several kilograms. It could also perform delicate actions, such as turning pages or picking up small items.

With continuous exercise and sufficient nutrition, his constitution had finally reached the standard level of 1.0 for an ordinary person, freeing him from his weak state.

As for resources, through Grey Tower General Store's stable supply arrangements and the completion of various scattered material-processing tasks and long-term commissions, he had accumulated nearly 1,200 contribution points after deducting his daily expenses.

That was no small fortune, enough for him to purchase some genuinely useful resources.

With his breakthrough imminent, Luo Lin decided to wait no longer.

He needed a push to help him break through the final barrier.

Luo Lin took out a good-quality [Lesser Mental Boiling Potion] that he had kept for himself.

This potion could temporarily increase the activity of mental power, making it ideal for breaking through a bottleneck.

He pulled out the stopper and drank the azure potion in one gulp.

A cool energy carrying a faint sting rushed into his mind. His sea of consciousness was like a lake into which a stone had been thrown, ripples spreading across its surface as his perception became extraordinarily sharp.

He immediately focused his mind and operated the mastery-level [Basic Meditation Method] with all his strength.

His mental power became unusually active under the stimulation of the potion. Circulation paths that had once been obscure and difficult to understand now became clearly visible.

He guided the surging mental power toward the invisible barrier that had been obstructing his advancement.

Once, twice, three times, four times...

His mental power shook against the barrier, bringing waves of swelling pain.

Luo Lin held fast to his mind without retreating in the slightest, concentrating every thought on a single point.

After an unknown amount of time, he seemed to hear a soft pop as the sturdy barrier was finally broken through.

In an instant, he felt his sea of consciousness expand outward sharply, becoming broader and more stable.

Both the quantity and purity of his mental power increased significantly, and the mana flowing through his body became fuller and more agile as well.

That was right. He had succeeded!

Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice!

[Level: Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice—(Progress 1%)]

[Mental Power: 2.5]

[Mana: 25/25]

The joy brought by the breakthrough was brief, and Luo Lin quickly calmed down.

A Second-Rank Apprentice was only the first step. The road ahead was much longer.

He needed to consolidate his rank before planning his next move.

Becoming a Second-Rank Apprentice meant that his access privileges within the academy had improved.

He could accept tasks with relatively higher rewards but greater danger, and he could access more profound knowledge.

Most importantly, he was qualified to apply for an independent stone house equipped with basic protective and soundproofing spell arrays, which would greatly improve his living conditions.

Luo Lin immediately went to the Administrative Tower to register his advancement and submit an application to change residences.

Changing stone houses required a one-time payment of three hundred contribution points, along with a monthly maintenance fee of fifty contribution points.

He paid without hesitation.

His new residence was located near the inner ring of the apprentice district. It was an independent stone house of around twenty square meters.

Though it was still simple, its stone walls were thick, and once the doors and windows were shut, they could effectively block out the cold wind.

There was a simple spell array inside that gathered energy particles, making the meditation environment several times better than before. There was also a fixed washing area.

This was crucial for potion preparation, which required a quiet environment and cleanliness.

After moving into his new home, Luo Lin began considering the study of new spells.

[Mage Hand] was useful, but it lacked direct offensive and defensive capabilities.

He needed to improve his immediate combat strength.

He returned to the library's spell section and browsed the list of zero-circle spells available for Second-Rank Apprentices to borrow.

[Acid Spray]: Sprays corrosive acid. Its attack power is acceptable, but its range is short, and practice is required to avoid accidental injury.

Borrowing fee: 40 contribution points.

[Weak Force-Field Armor]: Forms a weak force field over the body's surface, capable of blocking a small amount of physical attacks and energy impacts. It consumes a great deal of mental power.

Borrowing fee: 45 contribution points.

[Stun Spell]: Fires a mental shock that briefly stuns nearby enemies. Its effect depends on the difference in mental power between both sides.

Borrowing fee: 50 contribution points.

After weighing his options repeatedly, Luo Lin chose [Acid Spray] and [Weak Force-Field Armor].

One for offense, one for defense.

Although [Stun Spell] had a special effect, it relied on mental suppression and might not work well against enemies stronger than himself.

After paying eighty-five contribution points, he received two crystal tablets containing the spell models.

Upon returning to the stone house, he began by studying [Acid Spray].

This spell model was more complex than [Mage Hand], involving energy conversion and directional projection, making it more difficult to construct.

However, with [Efficient Scholar], his previous experience studying [Mage Hand], and the analytical books he had read, he understood and memorized the model quickly.

Yet he ran into trouble during the actual construction.

This spell required him to manipulate mana into simulating a corrosive energy property, which demanded extremely precise mana control.

On his first attempt, the model collapsed halfway through because the simulated energy property was unstable. The backlash made Luo Lin's throat taste sweet, and he nearly coughed up blood.

Luo Lin did not rashly begin a second attempt.

He stopped and carefully reviewed the process of failure, analyzing the key points in simulating the energy property.

Only after resting and confirming that his body was unharmed did he begin the second construction.

This time, he was even more careful. He slowed down while simulating the energy property, striving for precision.

Failure, adjustment, another attempt...

It took him a full three days and dozens of failures before he finally succeeded in constructing a stable [Acid Spray] model for the first time.

With a thought, he infused it with mana.

Pfft!